16:The United Nations and the Reconstruction of International Society after 1945 Flashcards
what were the lessons from the interwar years after 1945?
- that the institutions in then period failed
-economic reconstruction failed
-inability of states to protect citizens from armed aggression - fair to stop the use of violence by states against their own citizens
what was the economic impact of the war for the USA?
1940-44: industrial production rose by 15% per year
1945: it was responsible for 50% of worlds manufacturing output, $20bn of $33bn gold reserves, possessed 50% of shipping and responsible for 33% of exports
how did wartime output change in European economies?
a fall in output of between 25% and 75%
Lend Lease Programme
1941-45
$43’615 million in US economic aid
4-5% of US national income transferred to Britain under the programme
when did Britain finally pay off its WW2 debts?
2006
who headed economic reconstruction after WW2?
America
-US officials blamed economic discrimination and trade barriers for the slide to war in 1939
Bretton Woods
conference in July 1944
-set up institutions and rules for post war capitalisms and established a new economic order
how long did the economic order established by Bretton Woods last?
until the oil price shocks in the 1970s
International Monetary Fund
established in 1945 to maintain currency and exchange rate stability
how could members utilise the International Monetary Fund?
-could draw on currency reserves to alleviate national balance of payment problems
-would prevent currancy devaluations that would lead to declining imports
International Bank of Reconstruction and development
IBRD (World Bank) was established to promote world trade and finance in post-war European reconstruction
-learnt the lessons from economic systems being so vulnerable to shock of short-term private capital investment after 1918
What initially overshadowed the IBRD?
the Marshall plan
-massive US government investment in Europe
What did Bretton Woods hope to establish?
an International Trade Organisation, but the GATT system emerged instead by October 1947
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT System)
-GATT negotiations were based on promotion of
multilateral, non-discriminatory trade and the
eradication of trade restrictions and quotas
-By mid-1950s there had been a net reduction in
US tariffs of 50% from 1934 levels
-1995: the GATT system evolved into the post-
Cold War World Trade Organization (WTO)
From when, was the USA planning a post-war international organization
April 1940
Four Nations Declaration
October 1943
USA, Britain, USSR, China
established a framework for international order in the postwar world
